Wellness

[chrystaltree]

The vast majority of insurers do not cover acupunture...period.  It's a non covered service, so you cannot appeal.   In my work, over the years, I have encounterd one or two insurers who covered it on an individual consideration basis but only because a physician was doing the accupunture and there was no other option for the patients because they had conditions that ruled out surgery and every other treatment.  That's the key.  Not just that the patient doesn't WANT narcotics or surgery.....that the patient CANNOT have those things  for medical reasons.

[chrystaltree]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

When I was working, both chiropractic and acupuncture were covered by my insurance. Now that I'm on traditional Medicare (MA not available to me) I'm out of luck.

Having had treatment several times in years past, I believe in it.

But because it always works better with a series of treatments, only paying for 1-2 isn't much help and I can't afford paying for 8-10 treatments even at a reduced rate. Kind of a bummer.

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        It was covered when you were working because your employer purchased a rider that covered chiropractic and accupuncture care.  It's never part of the standard coverage package.  Patients don't understand that.  So, they think some insurers cover those things and some don't.   Some employers purchase the added coverage and some don't.

[Moonchilde]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

When I was working, both chiropractic and acupuncture were covered by my insurance. Now that I'm on traditional Medicare (MA not available to me) I'm out of luck.

Having had treatment several times in years past, I believe in it.

But because it always works better with a series of treatments, only paying for 1-2 isn't much help and I can't afford paying for 8-10 treatments even at a reduced rate. Kind of a bummer.

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        It was covered when you were working because your employer purchased a rider that covered chiropractic and accupuncture care.  It's never part of the standard coverage package.  Patients don't understand that.  So, they think some insurers cover those things and some don't.   Some employers purchase the added coverage and some don't.

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I'm well aware of that. Some employers provided it, some didn't. I understood why. I never indicated that I didn't.

[Tinkrbl44]

Well, insurance coverages tend to change from year to year, but everyone is super cost-conscious these days, so I'm not surprised.  

My only suggestion would be to inquire with a few acupuncturists to see if they have any pricing flexibility ....   such as a reduced rate "package" for several sessions.   Sometimes you get lucky.